ARAHA life Saver Campaign is a peer-to-peer crowd funding campaign on our website designed to  help our supporters to launch their own fund raising campaigns to support ARAHA’s projects in the Horn of Africa region.

The following is an interview with one of our donors highlighting the importance of this campaign and why she joined.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Leila and I’m from Northern California, married with two kids.  I am a registered nurse.

What is your role with EMC?

I’ve been an active member of the Eritrean Muslims Council (EMC) for over 10 years and actively participate in the relief committee. By God’s will, my friends introduced me to projects focused on aiding refugees living in camps in Sudan and I watched video clips such as the “Forgotten Refugees” and more by the Ethar’s organization. This led to EMC brainstorming relief projects we wanted to focus on, eventually leading us to ARAHA and it’s executive director, Br. Mohamed.

Through the relief committee, we have worked on the building and opening of a high school health clinic in a Sudan refugee camp and in partnership with Kind Hearts, assisted in the building of a school library.

I am motivated and encouraged to continue my participation on relief projects by the people doing this work and by those who support the projects with their time, donations and prayer. Most importantly, the increasing support from the community at large, both Eritrean and non-Eritrean that fund our water well projects and our annual Eid gifts for orphans and Ramadan food baskets campaigns.

Leila Abubaker From EMC ran a few life saver campaigns over the span of a few years and made a significant impact in the HOA region.

How has the partnership with ARAHA helped you achieve your goals over the year?

Without a doubt, Araha is a critical factor in our success.  They have assisted us in executing our projects and reaching those who need assistance the most. They are dedicated, efficient, and transparent every step of the way. Araha is one of the few organizations that we officially work with to help refugees in the Horn of Africa and I hope we can continue to work together to expand our reach.

Why is it important for you to give back?

As Muslims, it is important for us to give back, even if it’s small because when individuals who make small contributions come together, great things can happen.  We have seen this with our EMC relief committee and through the partnership with ARAHA.

How has the Life Saver Campaign on our website helped?

The lifesaver campaign was amazing! Our original goal was to raise $16,000 for the building of two water wells, orphan gifts and food baskets. In three weeks, we raised $22,000, far exceeding our goal! So we had enough to build two water wells and increase the number of orphan gifts and food baskets. The experience gives me hope that there are many people, both Eritrean and non-Eritrean, who are passionate, caring, and willing to give.

The website was really helpful, there was some confusion at the beginning, a lot of donors felt it was not user friendly, it confuses between the general donor and specific life saver campaign donor, which I shared with Araha and they were able to accommodate my request.

What would you say to someone who is interested in starting their own life saver campaign on our site?

You should go for it! You can really make a difference!

What inspires you about ARAHA?

ARAHA is a pleasure to work with.  They answer my questions promptly, provide timely updates, and delivered full reports at the end of projects.  They are licensed with official tax ID which gives everyone a peace of mind.

Any other comments?

I thank God for giving me the opportunity and ability to give back and work with amazing people. A special thanks to the EMC leadership for supporting the many relief projects I have worked on over the years and ARAHA’s team for helping me every single step of the way!

I thank all those who helped during the campaign, whether that was through donating or spreading the word.

Choose to make a difference, choose to change a life, and choose to help a child.